It's always fair weather for Taj Gibson

Breakout-type season only enhances sunny disposition as Bulls forward believes he could be a 20-10 guy as a starter

February 08, 2014|By K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune reporter

LOS ANGELES — Taj Gibson's Saturday played out how most days go for the typically upbeat forward, with smiles and a sunny sky.

That the weather actually produced the latter only served as a bonus for Gibson, who took his perpetually optimistic bent into his attendance at Saturday night's USC-UCLA game.

"Hope we can pull off a miracle because it's a rivalry game," said Gibson, who played for former Bulls coach Tim Floyd at USC. "Hope I can bring some good luck. It has been a rough year for us."

It has been the opposite for Gibson, who could even take the Bulls practicing Saturday at UCLA in stride. Coming off his career-high-tying, 26-point effort against the Warriors, a total Gibson has posted three times this season, the fifth-year forward is continuing his breakout season.

Gibson is averaging 18.7 points on 48.9 percent shooting and 10 rebounds in his six starts, which will become seven on Sunday if Carlos Boozer's strained left calf sidelines him against the Lakers. Overall, Gibson is averaging 12.5 points on 48.1 percent shooting and 6.6 rebounds in 28.7 minutes.

"Every time I score I'm just smiling because I can't believe half the things I'm doing," Gibson said.

Gibson is so confident he theorized he could become a 20-10 guy "a lot" or at least average a double-double if he ever became a full-time starter.

"It's not hard, I don't think, if you get the right amount of minutes and attempts," he said.

Averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds may be a stretch. But what is certain is Gibson has improved dramatically offensively and quietly thrust himself into the conversation for various awards like Sixth Man of the Year, All-Defensive team and Most Improved Player.

"All of the above," said his obviously biased coach, Tom Thibodeau. "He has made that case by his actions, the way he has performed. He's invaluable to us. And just the way he works, he's by far our best practice player. He worked extremely hard this summer. We have a lot of confidence in him. And I still think there's room for growth for him."

Gibson is a team-first player who credits Boozer and Joakim Noah for helping his development. His 20-10 talk isn't cockiness as much as confidence. He accepts starting or coming off the bench with equal vigor and admits to "making a jump" offensively this season because of better footwork and an even more intense offseason than usual.

"I just feel extremely confident in my game," Gibson said. "As far as the post, I feel I always have a good shot at getting a bucket because I really take my time and work on my footwork. Teams are trying to do different things to slow me down and I'm just adjusting.

"A great player like (assistant coach) Ed Pinckney told me when you are in the zone, sometimes you don't think about who is guarding you. You just go. That's the way I'm feeling right now. I don't even care who is guarding me. I just go."

Layups: Boozer's strained left calf left him "very limited" at Saturday's practice, according to Thibodeau. He's listed as day-to-day with the recurring injury and a game-time decision Sunday. "The last time he wasn't out long but we'll see," Thibodeau said. … Following practice, seldom-used Toko Shengelia left the team indefinitely for a personal matter. That means if Boozer doesn't play, the Bulls will have nine bodies Sunday. "You have to have eight active, so we have more than enough," Thibodeau said. Trim from here for print and use above … Thibodeau, on the return of the Lakers' Steve Nash: "It's amazing his ability to make plays and decisions. He's having a bad year at the free throw line shooting 87 percent. His career has just been incredible. Unfortunately, he has fought the injuries this year. But any time you have a guy like that, his ability to make others better goes a long way."